Mode of constructing the pockets of gabmejntts



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL HARRINGTON, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

MODE OF CONSTRUCTING THE POCKETS OF GARMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 2,309, dated October 11, 184:1.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, DANIEL HARRINGTON, of the city and count-y of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful mode of rendering pockets for insertion into various articles or garments as worn upon or connected with various parts of the human system in the cases of men and women secure against the depredations of ordinary thieves or pickpockets, and which I denominate a protection or safety pocket, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description.

li/[y invention consists in attaching by sewing or otherwise-as cementinO, riveting, &c., upon the exterior surface of an ordinary pocket, made of any of the usual materials in use or upon pockets made expressly for t-he purpose-metallic wire chain of small size in strands, either lengthwise of the pocket, or crosswise, or both, or obliquely, or in curved lines, so near to each other as to prevent an opening from being cut between said lines large enough to obtain through it a pocketbook of the usual size, o-r any similar package that may contain money or papers of value; I likewise extend and attach a strand of said chain quite around the two edges and lower end of said pocket. This metallic chain (and other modes described below) as attached to the surface, &c., I call protecting or shielding against such cutting implements as thieves are in the habit of using. I use also for the same purpose sundry other sub-` stances and formssuch as common metal buttons with their eyes let through and fastened on the inside of the pocket by sewing or otherwise and these placed in lines near each other as abovesaid;-also, hone, horn, pearl, or met-al button mold sewed on in similar lines, with thread, or line wire; I also, stitch, or quilt the surface of the pocket with fine brass or other metallic wire, in lines, as abovesaid. All of these substances and forms tend to the same end in view, viz. the construction of a protection or safety pocket, and are, substantially, varieties of the same invention.

To prevent a large portion of a garment (and the pocket with it) from being cut away-say the breast, or skirts of a coat, I extend one or more strands of chain that connect well with the pocket into another, (or other) part of the garment that may be most appropriate, a distance greater, or less,

from said pocket-in the case of a breast pocket the chain should be extended upward and continued under the collar of the coat toward the center seam,-in the case of a skirt pocket, the chain should be extended upward and thence across above the skirt fold to the center seam, or farther. In the case of a reticule, bag, or carrier worn upon a ladys arm the chain should extend from the pocket within the said reticule, bag, or carrier and pass over the wrist, or arm, in the form of a loop, which would render both the pocket and carrier safe (the pocket being sewed to the inside of the latter,) whatever may be its shape or denomination. Pockets that are worn close upon the body, or skin, like those in vests, or the waist-s of ladies dresses, do not require the extension part of the chain, not being liable to be cut away-but only to be cut into.

For the' purpose of making secure the mouth, or upper end of the breast or skirt pocket of a mans coat (and others may bc done in the same way) a little above, (say about an inch,) where the pocket is inserted into the cloth of the garment I attach a cross-piece' made of metal, which may be three fourths, or an inch in length and a sixteenth, twelfth, or tenth of an inch in diameter, more or less, and which cross piece I attach by an intermediate stem of metal of the same diameter and from the eighth to a quarter of an inch in length, to a metal base, half, three-quarters, or an inch square and of the thickness of thin pasteboard, with see letter C in drawing, also fastening at the top of the pocket, Fig. No. l-by the side of the oblong opposite the staple it is made to connect with the said topedge of the pocket and thus said oblong serves the twofold pur pose of connection with the cloth of the pocket, and passing over the cross-piece, after which the staple will slip down back of the lst cross-piece and closely embrace the stem,

and form a secure fastening of the mouth of the pocket that will require the thumb and foretinger of both the right and left hand to either open or shut the same, and present a barrier to the operations of a thief, not easily to be overcome without detection. This oblong may be in its clear three-quarters of an inch long and one-eighth of inch wide, more or less, and the staple of the same dimensions, more or less, and the diameter of the wire of which it is made the same as that of the cross-piece, more or less. lVhen itis said, with clear, it is meant on the inside. The various modes above described, for protecting or shieldingthe outer surface of a pocket may be, also, applied to the inner surface of the same, and in either case, the protecting materials may be covered and be intermediate between the pocket and lining, or covering, -and thereby prevent the metallic,or other shielding from injuring the cloth of the garment. by abrasion. Various substances and forms not mentioned above, such as wire rings, pieces of sealskins, &c., may be used for shielding a pocket, as above described, whichV would be only dierent modes of doing the same thing and substantially varieties of the same invention. In the cases where metal is named above, brass, or German silver may be made use ot. It, however, it should be found requisite be` cause of more powerful cutting implements being devised than thieves are now in the habit of using, both the shielding and extension parts of the chain as described may be made of steel wire and then case-hardened-and substituted for the brass-wire chain above named,-and which would render cutting extremely ditlicult, if not impossible.

I likewise make a pocket of metallic strands, either flat, or in the form of common wire, iner or coarser, wove into cloththe said strands may be twisted with thread previous to weaving and thereby form a mixture of metal and thread and render the cloth more iiexible. This pocket I protect on its side edges and bottom with a strand of wire chain, which strand is to extend beyond the top of the pocket into the garment as above described. There is no delinite size or form for making any of the pockets above described-the maker will be governed in all cases by his own taste, or the wishes of his employers ,-and will also be governed by the same principles in the insertion of them into the articles, or garments for which they are intended-see drawings and explanation.

In explanation of the annexed drawings- Figs. Nos. l and 2, represent and explain a protect-ion pocket detached from a garment-Fig. No. l is intended to represent the sides of the pocket next to the body (which pocket may be of any size, greater or less). The body, or substance of which is made of tine brown holland-the yellow lines on the right side and the yellow line passing down on the right edge and on the lower end, are exactly similar to what would appear on the left side if the cover a was taken awayand the yellow line passing down the middle together with the other yellow lines represent tine brass wire chain sewed to said pocket by way of protectionthe two yellow lines hanging from the top beyond the left side also represent brass wire chain (part of the longest one being of a darker color is intended to represent iron or steel. wire chain, harder than ordinary iron wire)-these lines of wire chain are intended to extend into appropriate parts of the garment to prevent the whole pocket from being cut outs-the left side of the face of the pocket, a, represents the halt of it covered with holland to prevent the protection materials from injuring the cloth of the garm-ent by abrasion provided such precaution should be deemed necessary. At the top of said pocket the staple-oblong which is represented attached to the side next to the body immediately at the top and midway between its side edges-and the cross-piece and base intended to be represented attached to a piece of holland added to the opposite side of the pocket and extending somewhat above the same for the purpose ot representing how the said base with its cross piece should be attached to the cloth of the garment, in the case of a breast, or inside skirt pocket inserted-together, show the pocket fastened at its mouth, or upper end-see the staple and oblong (separate from the pocket) represented at ,the cross-piece and stem, at c, and the base at (l. Fig. 2, represents the opposite side of said pocket with the protection materials on the right half of it covered with holland to prevent abrasion, as above said.in the form of protection at a, in an oblique line is intended to be represented pearl button molds sewed on,-at horn or bone button molds,-at c, brass buttons with their eyes let through the hollow of the pocket and secured inside by sewing or otherwise,-at CZ, is intended to be represented stitching, or quilting done with line brass, or other metallic wire`all of these protection materials extending under the holland cover &c. The two strands of chain represented as hanging from the top on the right edge of the pocket are sufficiently explained above by what is said of Fig. l. Fig. 3, is intended to represent a small pocket, protected on its side edges 125 and lower end by wire chain, the body of which is of metallic, flat, or round thread, or

wires, (brass or other) twisted together with (or without) common thread, and

wove into clothsee what is above said of 13Q Figs. 1, and 2, for further explanation, if requisite.

Fig. 4L, is intended to represent a sufficient portion of the left side of a mans coat to show how the inside breast and inside skirt pockets, as above described, are inserted into that garment and how fastened at their tops-a part of the cloth of the garment in each case is represented as cut and turned up at b, showing the lower sides of the pockets,-and the two slits between the arm-hole, a., and the front of the cloth are intended to show the direction which the eX- tension chain should be made to take to prevent the pocket Jfrom being cut ouh-the end of the chain at, c, is intended to show the direction which it should be made to take from the top of the skirt pocket across the waist of the coat, at the top of the skirt part, to the opposite side.

Fig. 5, is intended to represent a portion of the right side of the upper front partof pantaloons, or trousers, showing the right flap unbuttoned and turned down with a protection pocketl inserted into the garment and hanging out over and hiding said flap.

Fig. 6, is intended to represent a portion of the left side of a mans vest with the cloth cut and turned up showing the lower end of a protection pocket-and in precisely the same way, or manner is a protection pocket to be inserted into the waist of a ladys dress, or coat and this said Fig. 6 exactly represents it. Top fastenings may be added in these latter cases, as above described, if deemed requisite by wearers.

Fig. 7, is intended to represent a ladys reticule, bag, or carrier with its common drawing strings-with one side turned down showing the top part of a protection pocket inserted within (by sewing to the opposite side) in combination with a chain in the form of a loop, represented by the yellow lines extending out and hanging from the top part of said Fig. 7 on the right side, and which, when worn should pass over the wrist or arm, the pocket being closed at the top when the strings of the reticule, bag or carrier are drawn and made secure in the usual way. The said chain loop is represented as made of brass wire, but may be made of iron, or steel wire, as represented by a few links at Fig. No. l.

n all cases where a protection pocket is wanted in a garment it can be inserted, after the protection materials, or shielding are added to it, by sewing it in, around the to-p, in the same manner as ordinary pockets are usually inserted.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- Combining pockets constructed substan tially as described with the various articles of wearing apparel set forth.

DANIEL HARRINGTON.

Witnesses DAVID D. CRIsrnRM, J. MITCHELL. 

